Chapter 6 - The Fire That Was Not an Accident
Madison stared at the security footage.
“Mom?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“That is not me.”
“The coat is yours,” Grant said.
“It disappeared from my closet last week.”
“You never mentioned that.”
“I own several coats.”
The figure in the video opened the rear of the vehicle and removed two red containers. The license plate was hidden by mud, but the right tail light had a thin vertical crack.
Grant walked toward the parking area.
Evelyn’s black luxury vehicle had the same damaged light.
The troopers examined the cargo space.
It smelled faintly of gasoline.
Evelyn sat down.
For the first time since I arrived, she seemed unable to create an explanation quickly enough.
“I lent the car to Madison.”
My sister recoiled.
“No, you did not.”
“You used it Tuesday.”
“To visit the dress designer.”
“Where did you go afterward?”
“Home.”
“Can anyone prove that?”
Madison looked at Preston, who stood beside a trooper near the gate.
He did not meet her eyes.
A second black SUV entered the property.
Three investigators from the Colorado Attorney General’s office stepped out. The woman leading them introduced herself as Special Prosecutor Lena Ward.
She carried a warrant.
My name appeared at the top.
The emergency contract, evacuation reroute, and advance payment had all been authorized through my credentials.
Until the investigators proved otherwise, I was not only a victim.
I was a suspect.
Evelyn looked at the warrant and regained a small part of her confidence.
“You see? Claire has been blaming everyone because she knows what she did.”
Elias stepped forward.
Ward raised a hand.
“Mr. Vale, do not interfere.”
He stopped.
I gave the prosecutor my phone, government laptop, and security badge voluntarily.
“I was at the operations center when the account was accessed.”
“We will verify that.”
“There are cameras, radio logs, and twenty six staff members.”
“We will verify all of it.”
She was not warm, but she was fair.
That mattered.
Ward’s team established a temporary interview room inside the chateau library. One investigator reviewed the office footage showing Preston entering under Grant’s card.
Another analyzed the fire scene video.
Then a technical specialist recovered deleted images from the office camera.
At two thirteen in the morning, Preston was not alone.
A blonde woman entered behind him wearing my emergency jacket.
Her face was hidden beneath a hood.
She carried my phone for long enough to clone the authentication token.
Madison sat beside me as the footage played.
Her breathing changed.
“I was there.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Evelyn stood.
“Madison, be quiet.”
“No.”
My sister’s voice trembled.
“Preston told me Claire was planning a surprise government ceremony for my wedding. He said I needed to scan documents from her office so we could obtain temporary road access.”
“You entered a restricted government office?” Ward asked.
“I thought Dad had approved it.”
Grant looked devastated.
“I did not.”
Madison removed her phone.
“Preston gave me instructions through disappearing messages, but I took screenshots because I was afraid I would forget something.”
The images showed Preston telling her which doors to open and which device to connect to my computer.
One message came from Evelyn.
Wear Claire’s jacket. Cameras only check clothing and badges at night.
My mother stared at the screen.
“That is fabricated.”
Madison opened an audio recording.
Evelyn’s voice filled the library.
“Once Claire is charged, the trust releases to you. Stop asking questions and do exactly what Preston says.”
I looked from my mother to my sister.
“What trust?”
Grant closed his eyes.
Evelyn whispered his name in warning.
He ignored her.
“The Catherine Mercer Trust.”
I had never heard the name.
Grant reached inside his coat and removed an old envelope.
“Claire, Evelyn is not your biological mother.”
The room became completely silent.
May you like
“She is your aunt.”
Continue to the next part: Claire learns Evelyn raised her only to control the mountain inheritance left by Claire’s supposedly dead mother.
